Final Reflection

‘The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.’ – Joseph Priestley

This module has taught me the importance of the above; the need to be concise and precise, using only the most impactful and relevant words to get the message across as more words just obscure the main point.

Firstly, I have developed with repeated practice, my written skills by employing the 7Cs of good writing in all forms of written communication. This also involved learning to translate my skills and acquired knowledge for effective job application letters and resumes, to market myself well.

Secondly, I have improved on my verbal skills to ensure successful and clear exchange of ideas through active listening and effective speaking. This is in addition to the honing of my oral presentation skills. The opportunity to explore and experiment with a different type of presentation, the persuasive kind, in addition to an explanatory one, has provided more exposure and a chance to polish my skills in a different setting.

Thirdly, the intentional placement in different working groups for different projects to simulate the professional setting further harnessed my ability to work well with different teams and people of different backgrounds. The small class also allowed for high interaction between both classmates and the tutor which I enjoyed most and felt was the biggest plus point.

Finally, Ms Goh’s valuable, timely and thorough feedback was vital in the improvement process throughout the module. I thoroughly enjoyed this module which has taught me essential life skills and I appreciate all the help and friendly criticism given by both Ms Goh and my classmates. All the best everyone!

Photo Source: http://www.fine-tooning.com

Reflection on Oral Presentation

I feel that our group’s oral presentation was effective and persuasive as we covered the relevant content and analyzed it appropriately. We also ensured the slides prepared were simple and audience friendly with the use of relevant graphics and charts.

I had the challenging role of being the opener. I tried to fulfill it to the best of my ability, firstly, by employing the use of good attention-grabbers, like statistics, and attempted to tailor these examples in the context of the audience, to make it of relevance to them. However, I feel that I could have done this better with more practice.

Secondly, I used an appropriate tone, emphasized important points to reiterate our focus and ensured my presentation had a clear structure and content. Furthermore, I used appropriate, accurate language, and ensured eye contact throughout. I feel that I was confident in my delivery although I fumbled at a few points due to nervousness and lack of time. These, in addition to my focus on giving a good opening, also resulted in me speeding up at certain parts.

Lastly, I aimed to have a thorough understanding of the content to avoid a script and memorization which only increase my chances of making errors due to the urge to regurgitate everything and missing a point only adds to my anxiety which affects the rest of my presentation. I covered all the required points and more as I was at ease, such that I understood what I was saying and could get my point across to the audience better.

It is indeed challenging to be the opening speaker, more so a persuasive one, as it is vital to grasp the audience’s attention from the beginning to lead on to the rest of the presentation. I would want another go at it to improve myself in the required aspects.

"There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave." - Dale Carnegie

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

Cultural differences abound in every society today due to the presence of a myriad of people from different countries, experiences and backgrounds.

I experienced the following cultural difference when I was on exchange in the U.S. In certain small classes where interaction between the professor and students was high, I was surprised to hear the students address the professor by her first name. I observed this with almost all the students in the class, all of whom were Americans except me. They addressed her as such with much ease but I was very hesitant. I stuck to my usual way of addressing her as ‘Professer’ or ‘Prof’ which she usually did not hear the first time and I had to repeat myself to get her attention as she was not accustomed to hearing it. I felt uneasy every time someone addressed her by her first name and even after hearing it repeatedly over a period of time, I was not comfortable with it.

This difference in behaviour observed in Asian and Western society can be attributed to differing emphasis; respect for individual liberties in Western society but respect for the parents, elderly and teachers in the former. The importance of respect given to elders in Asian culture is evident by the way Asians change their entire way of speaking and addressing an elder, by using a more formalized language. This, however, is not the case in Western culture where elders are not treated likewise. Therefore, a mutual understanding of cross cultural traditions, beliefs and practices is essential to ensure conflicts do not arise due to misinterpretation and misunderstandings, for instance, if a student from the West attends a class in an Asian country where respect for the teacher is paramount.

The following link gives an interesting visual comparison of Western and Asian culture:

http://www.vincentchow.net/2004/western-asian-culture-comparison

Application Letter Critique

Job vacancy - http://ejobcentre.nus.edu.sg/Jobs/jobdesc.asp?type=0&eid=4763291&jid=2195655&did=41&its=0&src=8&itn=

BLK 224 #04-97

Bukit Batok Street 21

Singapore 650224

(65)81100446
u0601850@nus.edu.sg

7 February 2010

Dr. Bin Tean The
Distinguished Visiting Investigator
National Cancer Centre Singapore
11 Hospital Drive
Singapore 169610

Dear Dr. The,

I am enclosing my resume in response to your advertisement for the position of Research Officer (Translational Research Lab), Reference: NCC/DMS/1209/116, as posted on 8 January 2010 on the NUS eJob Center website. I believe my experience in molecular biology research, excellent soft skills and good interpersonal skills make me a good candidate for further consideration.

As indicated in my attached resume, I am graduating from the National University of Singapore with an Honours degree in Life Sciences (specialization in Biomedical Science). I have been working on my final year project this past one year during which I gained a vast amount of knowledge on cloning work, taking it through every step from start to finish, with the final goal being recombinant protein expression and purification. I have also learnt to persevere, acquire trouble-shooting as well as good organisational skills which have given me the ability to work independently.

My experience in small research projects, business modules like marketing and operations management, in addition to my past work experience have instilled in me a good knowledge of computers, conducting statistical analyses as well as the necessary written and oral presentation skills. Moreover, as a team leader, I believe I have good interpersonal and communication skills that will enable me to work well in a team. The satisfaction I get from doing research has increased my interest in this field which will drive me to learn more and put in my best.

I believe my results-oriented attitude, strong laboratory skills and good communication skills will be an asset to the collaboration required between scientists and clinicians in your translational research laboratory. I do hope you will look favourably at my application and will review my resume further. I would like to meet with you to discuss my qualifications. I can be reached at the above telephone number and look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for your attention and consideration.

Yours sincerely,



Prameet Kaur

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

This conflict took place during my university life in a module I was doing, a large component of which comprised a research project in the laboratory and we worked in groups of four.

Anna and I did most of the planning, experimental set-up and bench work. However, our third groupmate, Betty did not contribute in any of these aspects. The fourth member, Carla, did some work but did not make any major contributions.

As a result, Anna and I became very close and confided in one another our feelings and dislike for Betty. Neither of us willingly talked to her and usually avoided her. Betty and Carla, on the other hand, were on better speaking terms and got along with each other.

When it came to the report, Anna and I sent the data to both Betty and Carla in spite of our unwillingness to do so because of their dearth of contribution. However, Betty could not understand the results which we had already explained briefly. She mailed us repeated asking questions we had already answered and we had to give reasons for our decisions in the laboratory to substantiate our results. Anna and I were frustrated as we had to spend a lot of time replying to her and had to work on our reports at the same time. As the deadline drew closer, we just replied as succinctly as possible and only gave the most relevant information.

Finally, Betty wrote a complaint letter to the person-in-charge saying that Anna and I were uncooperative and refused to share the data with her. Anna and I were outraged on knowing this.

Theoretically, resolving conflicts seems to be a very logical process of taking a step back, thinking and negotiating. What then should Anna and I have done to resolve this conflict?

'Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict -- alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence.' -Dorothy Thompson

Why are effective communication skills important for me?

Interaction between people in today’s society is unavoidable at any level, be it personal, social or professional. Effective communication skills, thus, are important in my day-to-day life so that I can communicate well to ensure the accurate exchange of ideas, prevent confusion and misinterpretations in a normal conversation. Going further, it is important to be able to work well as a team, collate everyone’s ideas and present them in the best possible way.

I feel the most difficult skill to acquire is being able to deliver good oral presentations confidently without memorizing the script and simply reciting it aloud. I would like to work on this area due to its importance in the workplace as the inability to communicate ideas well through a presentation can make one’s work worthless if one’s ideas are not brought across appropriately and completely.

These skills are more so important in the professional world where one needs to have a good resume, polished job interview skills and following the acquisition of a job, is expected to be able to communicate well with one’s colleagues. Well-written and formatted business letters and the delivery of cohesive and informative presentations are also vital skills to be acquired.

Another obstacle to effective communication is the diverse and multi-cultural society today that requires the understanding and adoption of appropriate communication skills to ensure people of different backgrounds and cultures can understand each other better. I hope to be able to acquire these skills through this module to improve myself.